Chapter 605: Seeking a livelihood
Chapter 592 seek a living
Time rushed past, April 28, 1875, in a cheer Franz was crowned King of Jerusalem, history has turned a new page.
Just completed the coronation ceremony, Franz received a bad news, uncle Ferdinand I is critically ill.
God had not favored him, and even in the Holy Land, the disease could not be suppressed.
Ferdinand I’s illness has a long history, to be able to hold out until now is a miracle in itself, want to “cure”, not to mention now, even to a hundred years later, the medical profession can not help.
After visiting his uncle, Franz sighed. Old age, sickness and death is the most helpless, the original space-time uncle also died this year, the butterfly effect has not been able to change the end.
People are not grass and trees can have no mercy, Ferdinand had no children in his life, and since childhood, he has treated Franz as his own son, and can even be described as spoiled.
Although Ferdinand I may be confused from time to time, but this does not harm the relationship between the two. When Franz also did not play uncle’s banner to fool people, forged the edict that is more routine.
Now think carefully, so many times did not wear help, I’m afraid uncle also took the initiative for him to take a lot of blackmail.
……
The emperor is destined to be lonely, just when Franz sentimental, a piece of news interrupted his sentimental.
“Is the news confirmed?”
It wasn’t that Franz was rare, it was that the content was so surprising that it was beyond Franz’s imagination.
Prime Minister Felix replied affirmatively, “It is confirmed. The Ottoman Empire is indeed directing the refugees to the Persian border, with the external explanation being to decentralize the resettlement.
By the way, the Ottoman Empire is also on a conscription spree, among the refugees, all young men between the ages of 16 and 50 have been recruited, supposedly to suppress the rebellion.
The embassy in London also confirmed that the British had recently made a loan to the Ottoman Empire and specified that it must be used to suppress the rebellion.
The rebels in the Ottoman Empire were all ragtag and scattered, and were no match for the government forces.
Ottoman Empire this increase in conscription, I am afraid that want is want to start a war against Persia, to divert the domestic conflicts.”
Ottoman Empire attacking Persia? Franz shook his head, he always felt unreliable. He had just been beaten up and immediately jumped out to make things happen, isn’t he tired of living?
Don’t look at the Ottoman Empire is a few points stronger than Persia, but they can’t help but have many enemies. Whether it was Austria, or Russia, as long as they pulled their leg a little bit, they would have lost all their efforts.
What if the war is not won? Instead of risking a war, it would be better to fight a civil war at home, and when the population is almost depleted, the domestic conflicts will be solved.
“This conclusion may not be correct, right now the Ottoman Empire’s top priority is the refugee crisis and suppressing rebellions, what good will attacking Persia do them?
Unless the Al-Shabaab are all a bunch of fools, they should know that the current Ottoman Empire can’t withstand a war, even if they win Persia, the refugee crisis still can’t be solved.”
There is no problem with using the war to divert the conflict, the Ottoman Empire and Persia are also in deep enmity, there is no pressure to attack Persia.
The problem is that Persia is also not a wealthy master, want to grab enough food from Persia to get through the crisis is almost an impossible task.
Foreign Minister Weissenberg: ”Your Majesty, the British may be behind this. We have extended our power into the Middle East, and the British will surely take action.
From the standpoint of the London government, to ensure that India is foolproof, it would be best to take Persia in hand and divide our sphere of influence with us in the Two River Valley.
But after the British invasion of Persia ended in failure more than a decade ago, the London government should still have a chip on its shoulder. They are likely to allow the Ottomans to attract attention and create an opportunity for another invasion of Persia.
The problem of the Ottoman Empire was small or large, but it was only a matter of money and food. If Britain is willing to lay down the money, it is still capable of weathering the crisis for them.”
The amount of money and food needed by the Ottoman Empire was astronomical, but this “astronomical” was also relative.
For ordinary countries it is “astronomical”, but for the British it is a huge sum of money that can be squeezed out.
Five million tons of food shortfall, sounds very impressive. But this food is not a one-time need, but the next one or two years of food shortages.
If all the cheapest potato flour was procured, it would actually only be a few tens of millions of divine guilders. It wasn’t like the Ottomans had the qualifications to be picky eaters, it was good to have something to eat.
The only problem was that the Ottoman Empire’s repayment ability was worrisome, and the risk of lending money to such a precarious country was just too high.
“Refugees”, “Borders” ……
Franz had a flash of insight and instantly understood.
“Send someone to keep an eye on the number of refugees that the Ottomans have scattered and placed on the border, I suspect that Al-Shabaab is trying to get the refugees into Persia to feed.
The number of refugees in the Ottoman Empire is too much, it has exceeded the limit of this country’s tolerance, and it is simply impossible to relieve them all.
Anyone in power would have to make trade-offs, and if nothing else, the Ottoman Empire will soon be expelling minorities from the country.
To be on the safe side, the guards at the borders were ordered to be on heightened alert and any illegal immigrants were forbidden to enter. Especially the Dardanelles, don’t let anyone be smuggled across.”
In Franz’s opinion, this was a risky move on the part of the Ottomans, completely putting their lives on the line. The country would immediately explode if there was even a half-hearted slip in the plan.
Even in Franz’s place, he would have chosen to gamble. If you gamble, you have a chance of survival. If you don’t gamble, you’re waiting to die.
The fact that the government has no money and is unable to provide relief to so many refugees is a reality that will not be shifted by the will of individuals.
At times like these, one cannot listen to the mouth-breathing party’s bluffing, but it is futile if they cannot turn out any food. Borrowing foreign debt is easier said than done, however, capitalists are not stupid, and it is impossible to take the money out of the water.
Let the refugees go abroad to make a living is cruel, but at least it is a hope of life, at least some of the lucky ones can survive, it is better than all stay and wait for death.
Perhaps by then the refugees will hit not only Persia, but also the Russian Empire and Austria.
But Franz is not too worried, Austria and the Ottoman Empire bordering the region is either a vast sea, or a vast desert, a small number of oases that are agricultural fallow areas, hundreds of miles of uninhabited that is the normal operation.
……
Ankara, after a political struggle, a new sultan, Abdul Hamid II, has been born.
The refugee crisis has been moving towards a climax as time goes by. Although Midhat righteously rejected the insidious British offer, he was very honest in his actions.
I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but large numbers of refugees were diverted to the border areas in droves. How was it enough to shock Persia?
Persia was also an agricultural country with limited productivity of its own and could not afford to feed so many refugees. Midhat, who had a bottom line, still wanted to keep more people alive.
So the other two neighbors are also the destination of this escape, Midhat also specially arranged for people to mix into the refugee pairs, ready to lead this escape movement.
In order to avoid international conflicts, nominally this action, is the people’s spontaneous action of the desertion movement, and the Ottoman government has nothing to do.
Abdul Hamid II asked with concern, “Are you ready, Prime Minister?”
Sitting in this position, one realizes that it is not easy for the Sultan. Abdul Hamid II did not want to be ousted in disgrace and die.
Now he has to rely on Al-Shabaab to solve the refugee crisis in the country. The ongoing civil war is not even that important in comparison.
The first limitation of the nationalist insurgency is the word “national”, which inherently restricts the growth of the insurgency.
The number of ethnic minorities is limited, and ethnic insurgents can only operate in their own ethnic areas; without a mass base in other places, it is difficult for them to recruit soldiers.
Against this background, the refugee crisis was particularly glaring. The Ottoman Empire was characterized by serious ethnic conflicts, and the only way to unite people was to survive.
Refugees happen to break this restriction, once the government stops relief, in order to survive, rebellion is almost an inevitable result. Millions of people all revolt,**** can not save the Ottoman Empire.
Midhat nodded: “Almost ready, if the plan goes smoothly, it is expected that more than two million people will leave, respectively, to Persia, Russia, Austria three countries to make a living, by then the domestic food crisis will be solved.”
……
(End of chapter)